Flat Creek Enoteca

http://www.flatcreekenoteca.com

The Flat Creek Enoteca is located in Marble Falls and is a tasting room and more for Flat Creek Estate. The Enoteca officially opened on May 20, 2014. For those of you, like me, who wondered first how to pronounce Enoteca, it is like (ee-no-tech-a). The Italian word is defined as a local tasting room and wine shop with small wine producers and serving artisan food.

The Flat Creek Enoteca is very easy to find since it is right on Highway 281 just north of the bridge heading into Marble Falls. When we first walked into the Enoteca, we were greeted and offered a complimentary sample of Flat Creek Blanco Brio 2012. This is a delightful wine with a blend of Muscat Canelli and Orange Muscat done in a semi-sweet style with slight effervescence. We were told this is standard practice for customers arriving to sample a wine they are offering.

Co-owner Rick Naber saw us and showed us around the tasting room. On one side is the tasting bar where you can place your order for a wine tasting, glass of wine, or food order. After you place your order, you can have a seat either inside at one of the many tables or outside on the patio which faces the river.

The big kitchen attraction is the large wood oven that can get to 700 degrees in cooking your food. These are just a few of the many food items which were available when we were there were:

• Texan Beef sandwich
• Italian sandwich
• Salads
• 12 inch pizzas
  • Cheese
  • Margherita
  • Sausage and Mushroom
  • Smoked Chicken BBQ
• Wood Fired Flat Bread
• Cheese Plate
• Crème brûlée

We chose a Margherita pizza and decided to do a tasting also. There are different options for tastings. One is six one ounce pours and then there are flights of three wines of three two ounce pours which include white, red, and sweet flights from which to select.

 

While our pizza was being cooked and tastings prepared, we continued taking a tour of the tasting room. On the opposite side of the tasting room is a small room with clouds painted on the walls, along with barrels and tank. Rick said they will use the small room for private tastings. With photos on the wall, there is a self-guided tour of the winemaking process from the start in the vineyard, crush, fermentation, barrel aging, and then the final product.

Our pizza and tastings arrived so we sat down. While enjoying the food and wine, Rick introduced us to Clay Duarte who handles the last piece of the puzzle which is the Italian wines offered in a cuvee wine dispenser system. When we finished our lunch, we visited Clay at the cuvee.

The cuvee stores eight wines and uses a type of credit card which is prepaid to then dispense proper amounts of wine. Clay was very informative of the Italian wines offered which at the time of our visit were:

• Vallerosa Bonci Verdicchio Manciano
• La Fontursia Pecorino Crivellino
• Schiavenza Dolcetto D’Alba
• Ettore Germano Langhe Nebbiolo
• La Fontursia Rosso Piceno
• Ettore Germano Langhe Rosso Balau
• La Fontursia Rosso Piceno Reserva Crivellino

There are more Italian wines offered at the tasting room and he swaps different wines in and out of the cuvee. We sampled two wines from the cuvee and it will be a good introduction of Italian wines for people wanting to taste something they may not ordinarily be able to try without buying a bottle.

Even though the tasting room had recently opened, it had already started drawing a good crowd from locals wanting a new place to enjoy wine and food for happy hour, events, and also to buy wine. The large “Communal Table” in the middle of the room can be reserved for groups of 8 to 16 guests.

Flat Creek Estate is a beautiful winery to visit, but when you want a quick glass of wine or buy a bottle, the Flat Creek Enoteca location makes it easy for customers to visit.

Fellow blogger Laurie Ware coincidentally visited Flat Creek Enoteca the same day we did, but at a different time. Please check out her Wine At Roads End blog for her experience.